(Photo Credit: Keenan Wright)
YUMA, Ariz. (November 14, 2014) The deserts of Arizona like Jason Johnson, as the MVT No. 41 finally broke into Victory Lane with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real in 2014, topping Friday's $5,000 to win preliminary A-Feature at the Cocopah Speedway; moving the No. 41 within 13 points of a fifth Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Championship.
The eighteenth different winner of the year in Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour competition, Johnson's victory at the Cocopah Speedway is his fifth since 2013.
"I tell you what, hats off to this race team. They work their tails off and never give up on their driver," said Johnson. "We have a good baseline when we come here, and to win here tonight, I don't know what it did to us points wise but all we could do is win this race and improve ourselves."
Caution as the initial start was called back, tragedy struck Brad Loyet as drivers in front of him tangled, collecting the No. 05 in the process. Able to roll through the accident, the contact caused the front wing to lay down at the next attempt at green. With the damage, Loyet was relegated to a seventeenth place finish.
Underway with Brandon Hanks taking the lead from the pole, Johnson made quick work from sixth; taking the lead as the caution flew on Lap 4. Put to second on the last completed lap, Jason worked past the D&B Farms No. 3h to lead Lap 5.
Setting a torrid pace into traffic by Lap 10, the remainder of the feature was uninterrupted as Johnson drove to a 6.226 second advantage. Grabbing the runner-up spot on Lap 7, Danny Wood was second to the checkered flag.
"I tell what, that was a good race. There were cars everywhere and I hope the fans enjoyed it as much as we did. I know Jason was having fun up there, and I was trying to peek around lapped cars looking for him thinking I might be coming for him to get it at the last lap like we did in 2012," commented Danny Wood on his runner-up finish. "I just couldn't quite get there and Jason doesn't make very many mistakes."
Making up positions in strides at the start of the race, Aaron Reutzel let the track come to him as the BC Funds No. 87 marched from twentieth to third with a highline, three wide pass in the closing laps with Tony Bruce, Jr. and Willie Croft.
"We weren't that good in the Heat, and it really didn't feel that good in the "B", but we just kept digging and digging," said Aaron of the run. "This thing was on a rail. I just wish we'd been further up there because this was a great racetrack. You don't come from twentieth to third on a one lane track. I love this race track. I know the results haven't always shown, but I love this track."
The bottom line of the three wide pass on the No. 18, California's Willie Croft brought the No. 3c home in the final transfer spot for Saturday's $10,000 to win feature event. Tony Bruce, Jr. held on to complete the top-five.
Roger Crockett, from fifteenth, was sixth with Jeff Swindell seventh. Blake Hahn crossed eighth with Mason Moore ninth and twenty-first starting Brian Brown completing the top-ten.
With Loyet's seventeenth place finish, the race for the 2014 Lucas Oil ASCS National Championship has tightened considerably as Jeff Swindell closed the gap to 11 markers with Johnson's win positioning the No. 41 third in tour standings. Johnny Herrera crossed twelfth and sits fourth with 42 point separating him from Loyet. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. will see his season end fifth in tour standings as the No. 15h trails by 75 markers going into the season's final night.
The Cocopah Speedway welcomed 46 drivers with six Heat Races going to Brandon Hanks, Justyn Cox, Bob Ream, Jr., Tony Bruce, Jr., Jeff Swindell, and Danny Wood. A pair of B-Features were won by Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and John Carney II. Provisional starts were utilized by Johnny Herrera and Matt Covington. In terms of points, the best points Herrera could have earned by using the provisional was 110, and was awarded 89 for his finish. Matt Covington's final provisional was worth a maximum of 90 points with 71 awarded to the driver of the No. 95.
The final night of the 2014 season gets underway Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 P.M. (MT) at the Cocopah Speedway. For more information, log onto http://www.cocopahspeedway.com. Love coverage can be found at http://www.racinboys.com.
For continued updates on the Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
*Race Results:
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV American Real
Cocopah Speedway - Yuma, Ariz.
Cocopah Cup Challenge II
Friday, November 14, 2014
Car Count: 46
SpeedMart Heat Races (8 laps): Winner plus top 10 in Passing Points advance to the A-Feature.
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3H-Brandon Hanks[2]; 2. 23-Seth Bergman[3]; 3. 17W-Harli White[6]; 4. 95-Matt Covington[1]; 5. 88-Shane Stewart[5]; 6. 4X-Brian Brown[7]; 7. 88N-D.J. Netto[4]; 8. 17B-Josh Baughman[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31C-Justyn Cox[1]; 2. 5H-Dakota Hendrickson[2]; 3. 31B-Joey Saldana[8]; 4. 94X-Nick Parker[4]; 5. 17-Channin Tankersley[6]; 6. 01-Kaylene Verville[7]; 7. 9S-Derek Sell[3]; 8. 14-Cody Sickles[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Bob Ream Jr[2]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson[4]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 4. 11-Roger Crockett[6]; 5. 45X-Johnny Herrera[7]; 6. 21-Tyler Thomas[8]; 7. 72-Phil Dietz[1]; 8. 57X-James Aragon[5]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[2]; 2. 3C-Willie Croft[4]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[3]; 4. 37-Mitchell Faccinto[6]; 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[8]; 6. 9R-Reece Goetz[1]; 7. 9-Ryan Linder[7]; 8. 29S-Darrell Sickles[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 94-Jeff Swindell[7]; 2. 52-Blake Hahn[6]; 3. 74B-John Carney II[1]; 4. 20Z-Rick Ziehl[2]; 5. 74-Colby Copeland[3]; 6. 96-Greg Hamilton[5]; 7. (DNF) 41W-Joshua Williams[4]
Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 81W-Danny Wood[6]; 2. 22-Mason Moore[4]; 3. 05-Brad Loyet[1]; 4. 0-Glenn Styres[2]; 5. 2L-Logan Forler[5]; 6. 90-Lance Norick[7]; 7. 98-Chris Masters[3]
Smiley's Racing Products B-Features (12 Laps): Taking top 3 to the A-Feature.
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 2. 05-Brad Loyet[3]; 3. 4X-Brian Brown[8]; 4. 88-Shane Stewart[7]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu[2]; 6. 21-Tyler Thomas[6]; 7. 9R-Reece Goetz[11]; 8. 90-Lance Norick[9]; 9. 20Z-Rick Ziehl[5]; 10. 94X-Nick Parker[4]; 11. 96-Greg Hamilton[10]; 12. 57X-James Aragon[15]; 13. 72-Phil Dietz[14]; 14. 98-Chris Masters[13]; DNS 41W-Joshua Williams
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 74B-John Carney II[2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 3. 17-Channin Tankersley[4]; 4. 45X-Johnny Herrera[3]; 5. 95-Matt Covington[6]; 6. 0-Glenn Styres[5]; 7. 2L-Logan Forler[7]; 8. 01-Kaylene Verville[8]; 9. 88N-D.J. Netto[11]; 10. 74-Colby Copeland[9]; 11. 17B-Josh Baughman[13]; 12. 9S-Derek Sell[12]; 13. 29S-Darrell Sickles[15]; 14. 14-Cody Sickles[14]; 15. (DNF) 9-Ryan Linder[10]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature (25 Laps): Top 4 lock into Saturday's A-Feature.
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[6]; 2. 81W-Danny Wood[3]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[20]; 4. 3C-Willie Croft[9]; 5. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[8]; 6. 11-Roger Crockett[15]; 7. 94-Jeff Swindell[7]; 8. 52-Blake Hahn[4]; 9. 22-Mason Moore[10]; 10. 4X-Brian Brown[21]; 11. 3H-Brandon Hanks[1]; 12. 45X-Johnny Herrera[23]; 13. 31C-Justyn Cox[12]; 14. 23-Seth Bergman[13]; 15. 8-Bob Ream Jr[2]; 16. 31B-Joey Saldana[5]; 17. 05-Brad Loyet[19]; 18. 37-Mitchell Faccinto[16]; 19. 74B-John Carney II[18]; 20. 95-Matt Covington[24]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 22. 5H-Dakota Hendrickson[14]; 23. 17-Channin Tankersley[22]; 24. 17W-Harli White[11]
Lap Leader(s): Brandon Hanks 1-4; Jason Johnson 5-25
KSE Hard Charger: Aaron Reutzel +17
FSR High Point: Jeff Swindell
Provisional(s): Johnny Herrera (P2); Matt Covington (P3)
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2014 A-Feature Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 4, Christopher Bell - 4, Aaron Reutzel -4, Brad Loyet - 3, Jeff Swindell - 3, Tony Bruce, Jr. - 3, Brian Brown - 3, Rico Abreu - 2, Seth Bergman - 2, Wayne Johnson - 2, Derek Hagar - 2, Matt Covington - 2, Patrick Stasa - 1, Sammy Swindell - 1, Davey Heskin - 1, Tim Crawley - 1, Logan Forler - 1, Jason Johnson - 1
2014 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Brad Loyet 4,069; 2. Jeff Swindell 4,058; 3. Jason Johnson 4,056; 4. Johnny Herrera 4,027; 5. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 3,994; 6. Seth Bergman 3,789; 7. Tony Bruce, Jr. 3,754; 8. Matt Covington 3,726; 9. Aaron Reutzel 3,626; 10. Blake Hahn 3,463
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The 2014 season marks the twenty-third year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of ten different Regions throughout the nation.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, iON Camera, Smokey Mountain Moonshine, C&R Radiator, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, KSE Racing Products, SpeedMart, Competition Suspension, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Saldana Racing Products, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Simpson, The Joie of Seating, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
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